Mobile electronic communications devices including pagers, cellular telephones (cell phones), and devices capable of both data and voice communications, sometimes referred to as “smartphones,” each provide different forms of electronic communications. Pager networks generally allow for very simple messages or numeric pages to be sent to a small device known as a pager or beeper. The pager devices are viewed as simple devices because they often are only capable of displaying a callback phone number or brief text message. Some pagers have “two-way” functionality that permits them to send simple messages and respond to incoming pages. Cell phones are also well known, and enable two-way duplex voice communications between the cell phones and landline telephones and other cellular telephones. Cellular telephones may also have limited data transmission capability including the ability to send short text messages using, for example, the Simple Messaging System (SMS). Smartphones are an advanced form of cell phones that provide access to both the standard telephony features of a cell phone and to various forms of data communications that occur over the World Wide Web via a web browser, instant messaging application program, and/or email program. Smartphones often provide access to data networks that were previously reserved for larger electronic devices, such as desktop or notebook computers.
While mobile electronic devices have become ubiquitous in modern society, the devices that are currently available have drawbacks as well. Pagers are very simple to use, but existing pager networks are presently being phased out of use as enterprises increasingly desire the enhanced abilities available through smartphones and the like. While cellular telephones, and smartphones in particular, enhance the data exchanging capabilities in a communication network, they too have drawbacks. Cellular phones are most useful for voice communications between a small group of individuals, but become less useful when sending messages to a larger number of devices. While data protocols like SMS can approximate the alphanumeric functionality of a pager, centrally tracking large numbers of SMS messages to individual mobile devices, and determining if a message has actually been displayed on the mobile device to which it was sent, is not possible in current systems without the use of special software on both the device and another computer. Wireless service providers who provide SMS message services also cannot guarantee the delivery times for SMS communications to the mobile devices. While smartphones are able to communicate using a variety of network protocols, the complex functionality of smartphones may provide too many unused capabilities at prices that render them too inefficient in time-constrained environments, such as a workplace.
Other problems with cellular telephones and smartphones include the limited options in centrally controlling and viewing the contents of communications between these devices. For example, an administrator in a hospital cannot read the content of an SMS message sent by Dr. A to Dr. B, or determine if Dr. B received and read the message. Cell phones and smartphones are also often capable of storing large amounts of information. If a cell phone or smartphone is lost or stolen, much of this information is irretrievably lost or becomes available for nefarious purposes.
The problems with current technologies noted above are particularly acute in situations where a defined group of users need a reliable and simple communications system using mobile electronic devices. Medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and other support personnel, working together in a hospital are one such example. Other examples include public agencies, such as police and fire departments. Many of these organizations still rely on pagers because of their simplicity, and because pager networks have historically had improved functionality over alternative mobile communications devices within buildings. For example, while modern cellular networks have broad geographic coverage, these networks still have difficulty in sending and receiving signals with devices within shielded structures, such as hospitals and police and fire stations. In the past, pager networks had improved coverage in these structures because of the very low bandwidth requirements of pagers, and because most pagers only received transmissions from the pager network and did not need to transmit back to the network. Pagers also provide a broadcast functionality, allowing for “one-to-many” communications where a single message is broadcast to many pagers simultaneously. In contrast, cellular phone systems generally send messages on a slower sequential basis, with one message sent to one recipient cell phone at a time. Despite these pager system advantages, the limitations in pager functionality in view of other more robust data exchanging devices render existing pager systems less useful for some modern professionals.
The drawbacks of current mobile communications devices and networks described above limit the use of these devices. A mobile electronic device communications system that allows for complex messaging and communications while providing improved reliability and security in shielded buildings is desired.